It’s the second Friday night in a row I’ve been hanging out in Heather Rae Johnson’s living room, listening to Johnson and her husband, Shannon Marino, roll through the repertoire of honky-tonk and hillbilly country tracks they play as Heather Rae and Her Moonshine Boys, peppered liberally with covers of…
“Atmosphere finally made a good record . . . yeah, right, that shit almost sounds convincing,” Minneapolis-based MC Slug, head of the Rhymesayers collective and label, raps on “Trying to Find a Balance,” off Atmosphere’s 2003 Seven’s Travels LP. Actually Atmosphere’s put out a shitload of good records, the most…
If you’ve missed the Chicago Sessions at Counter Culture (2330 East McDowell Road) this month, which brought out Chi-town house music auteurs DJ Lego and Lady D, you won’t want to skip the last installment, a performance this Saturday, March 26, by Djeremy. A founder of the online house collective…
Over at my pad on a recent Sunday afternoon, DJ ChaseOne has his battery-operated portable turntable on the floor next to his metal box of seven-inches, playing cuts and talking shop about crate-digging for rare grooves — limited pressings of old funk and soul records — and the gems he’s…
The Rogue, south Scottsdale’s infamous punk rock bar, isn’t normally the sort of place you’re likely to see people bustin’ out dance moves. But lately it’s been known to happen, according to DJ William, host of the almost-two-months-old Shake! night on Saturdays. “It’s not really a dance night, but people…
Beat addicts, here’s your chance to see the ‘Nix’s next superstar DJs in their larva stages at our own New Times DJ Competition, Friday, March 11, at Myst (7340 East Shoeman Lane in Scottsdale). The finalists are DJs Matty, Sean Morley, Soloman, Sonique des Fleurs, and Tranzit, and after their…
When the local bedroom producer who calls himself the Angel of Death dropped me off his demo, he made sure to point out the birth-control instructions he’d festooned the homemade CD with, which made me laugh, but not as much as the songs: choppy beats with sampled music and vocal…
Hot on the heels of fellow house-music visionary Bad Boy Bill’s visit to the ‘Nix, former tag-team collaborator and equally influential house producer Richard “Humpty” Vission is hitting town to get y’all’s asses shaking on the floor at Next on Wednesday, March 9. Humpty’s been tooling with the tables since…
My friend Billy used to always wear a button that said “Who Cares” on the collar of his jacket, until “some bitch” stole it off of him at a dive bar near our neighborhood. Billy was pissed, not because he’d lost some expression of apathy he was aiming at the…
We’re still happily enjoying the paradise that is our balmy wintertime in the ‘Nix, but clubgoers should be prepared for a chilly blast when Florida’s DJ Icey, lauded as “the King of the Funky Breaks,” hits town Friday, February 25, with an appearance at Myst, 7340 East Shoeman Lane in…
So you thought the Pink was hot already? You haven’t seen Hotter Pink yet, going down at Karamba (1724 East McDowell Road) this Friday, February 18. It’s the second annual birthday party for DJ Nimh (Hot Pink’s grand impresario), and he’s pulling out all the stops for this one, flying…
On a recent weekday afternoon, I was sitting at home flipping through the new issue of Food & Wine when Adam Jacobson, bassist and lead vocalist of the Tempe rock outfit Steppchild, dropped in to school me in his philosophy of rock ‘n’ roll. Now, I think I’m pretty well-versed…
Sometimes it takes a mellow evening out on the town to balance out your usual debauched nights, especially after Valentine’s Day. Lift your spirits at PAINT at the Paper Heart (750 Grand Avenue) on Tuesday, February 15. Host Even-Steven is on hiatus for the month, so guest LC will preside…
It was bound to happen, but still took me by surprise. In the February 1 New York Post’s infamous Page Six, there was my homie Conor in the “Sightings” section. “Lou Reed backstage at Town Hall congratulating indie darling Conor Oberst on his band’s third straight sold-out show there.” As…
When you scribble about bands for a regional publication every week like I do, it’s an occupational hazard that shitloads of crap local CDs arrive in the mail daily, destined to become coasters for cans of Budweiser. It’s rare that a local’s disc I come across is beyond lackluster, and…
After a long run at Boston’s/P.I., the Valley’s preeminent hip-hop night, Blunt Club, has made a temporary move to the Rio Salado Brewery on Mill Avenue in Tempe until it finds a permanent home. On Thursday, February 3, stop by to see your usual favorites: open mic sessions early in…
When I run into Phoenix rapper Pokafase a few days before his record release party for Mastermind, the long-overdue LP he recorded back in 2002, I remind him we met several times years ago when he was in the hip-hop group Know Qwestion, back when his moniker was Cappuccino. “Shhh,…
Scratching, mixing, beat-juggling, all the elements of hip-hop DJing — they’re all good, but sometimes you just wanna hear a song you can dance to straight through, the way you know it, the way you loved it in the first place. And especially if you’re a dance-music recidivist, you need…
New York-born DJ Kid Capri is one of the most recognized names in hip-hop turntablism, having been scratching since the tender age of 8. With a résumé that includes tours with P. Diddy, LL Cool J, Jay-Z, Usher, and Aaliyah, a stint as the live DJ on Russell Simmons’ Def…
Shortly after last week’s Revolver column appeared (“Tom’s Tax,” January 13), detailing the hidden charges tacked on to the face value of tickets for events promoted by Lucky Man Productions, the Marquee Theatre, and its owner, Tom Lapenna, New Times’ sources contacted us to let us know that Lapenna had…
It’s the third week of January. By now, if you’re like everyone else we know, you’ve broken your New Year’s resolution — popped that Vicodin, lost your gym membership card, hit the drive-through at Jack in the Box. We know a guy who resolved not to make any resolutions –…
Y’all rellies ready to get your gurp on? Kill Mill resident DJs Foundation, Dirty Napz, and Ether One are bringing that crazy-ass Z-Man, the verbal innovator, and Awol One, of the Shape Shifters, to town on Tuesday, January 18. It’s a duo not to be missed; Z-Man is one of…
